This observational study investigates the methods people use in their workplace to organize web information for re‐use. In addition to the bookmarking and history list tools provided by web browsers, people observed in our study used a variety of other methods and associated tools. For example, several participants emailed web addresses (URLs) along with comments to themselves and to others. Other methods observed included printing out web pages, saving web pages to the hard drive, pasting the address for a web page into a document and pasting the address into a personal web site. Differences emerged between people according to their workplace role and their relationship to the information they were gathering. Managers, for example, depended heavily on email to gather and disseminate information and did relatively little direct exploration of the Web. A functional analysis helps to explain differences in “keeping” behavior between people and to explain the overall diversity of methods observed. People differ in the functions they require according to their workplace role and the tasks they must perform; methods vary widely in the functions they provide. The functional analysis can also help to assess the likely success of various tools, current and proposed.

This paper describes the results of an observational study into the methods people use to manage web information for re-use. People observed in our study used a diversity of methods and associated tools. For example, several participants emailed web addresses (URLs) along with comments to themselves and to others. Other methods observed included printing out web pages, saving web pages to the hard drive, pasting the address for a web page into a document and pasting the address into a personal web site. Ironically, two web browser tools that have been explicitly developed to help users track web information -the bookmarking tool and the history list -were not widely used by participants in this study. A functional analysis helps to explain the observed diversity of methods. Methods vary widely in the functions they provide. For example, a web address pasted into a self-addressed email can provide an important reminding function together with a context of relevance: The email arrives in an inbox which is checked at regular intervals and the email can include a few lines of text that explain the URL's relevance and the actions to be taken. On the other hand, for most users in the study, the bookmarking tool ("Favorites" or "Bookmarks" depending on the browser) provided neither a reminding function nor a context of relevance. The functional analysis can help to assess the likely success of various tools, current and proposed.

While most research in the area of human-information behavior has focused on a single dimension-either the psychological or the social-this case study demonstrated the importance of a multidimensional approach. The Cognitive Work Analysis framework guided this field study of one event of collaborative information retrieval (CIR) carried out by design engineers at Microsoft, including observations and interviews. Various dimensions explained the motives for this CIR event and the challenges the participants encountered: the cognitive dimension, the specific task and decision, the organization of the teamwork, and the organizational culture. Even though it is difficult at times to separate one dimension from another, and all are interdependent, the analysis uncovered several reasons for design engineers to engage in CIR, such as when they are new to the organization or the team, when the information lends itself to various interpretations, or when most of the needed information is not documented. Similar multidimensional studies will enhance our understanding of human-information behavior.The last two decades have seen an increased interest in the study of human-information behavior. In addition to a rise in the number of user studies, the field has experienced a growth in theoretical development that has introduced new conceptual frameworks and expanded on existing ones (Pettigrew, Fidel, & Bruce, 2001). Various objectives have directed conceptual research in information behavior. Parts of it aimed at developing theories and concepts that would guide research in this area (e.g., Bates, 1989;Ellis, 1989;Pettigrew, 2000;Wilson, 1999), and other parts tested whether theories borrowed from other fields can bring new insights (e.g., Chatman, 2000;Kuhlthau, 1991;Tuominen & Savolainen, 1997). Of central interest, however, has been a more specific question: what factors-or variables-should be considered when studying information behavior?To answer this question, some investigators tested whether or not certain factors affected information behavior, while others contemplated which factors played a role. In contrast, very few studies were carried out without specific variables in mind, but seeking rather to uncover which factors played a role in real-life situations. We present here a multidimensional approach for such studies, and illustrate its utilization through an example: a case study of collaborative information retrieval. The study employed a naturalistic approach and focused on several dimensions simultaneously, rather than on isolated factors or variables. It pointed to a variety of factors that influenced the information behavior of the users involved. While the results of this single case cannot be automatically generalized to other contexts, the study demonstrated that these factors belong to various dimensions. Moreover, these dimensions interacted with one another. Therefore, ignoring any one of them when analyzing human-information interactions would prevent investigators from fully understanding the phenom...

People can organize information items by placing them into folders or by tagging them with labels. Over the years there has been considerable discussion on the relative merits of folders vs. labels. But there is relatively little empirical data directly comparing people's experiences with each model of organization on comparable sets of information.. We compared participants' experiences organizing information with both folders and labels over time. Results indicate that each model has its strengths and weaknesses when assessed with respect to basic activities of personal information management (PIM) such as keeping, organizing and re-finding. Results afford a deeper, more detailed understanding of each model in practice. This understanding is achieved by engaging participants in an active, "hands-on" comparison of models over a period of time. Study results point to syntheses in tool support for organizing information that might combine strengths of folders and labels while avoiding the inadvertent introduction of weaknesses from these models.

This study (Keeping Found Things Found -KFTF) investigated the methods that people use in their workplace to re-access web information. People were observed using many different methods to keep web information for later use including the use of Bookmarks (or Favorites), self-addressed email, hand-written notes, and paper print-outs. Each keeping method provided a range of functions but none of the observed methods allowed for all desired functions. Participants in the KFTF study were also tested for their ability to return to a web site and several re-finding methods were observed and identified. When prompted with web site descriptions they had generated three to six months earlier, participants had a 95% or better success rate in returning to the cued-for web sites. Moreover, two thirds of these re-finding methods required no explicit keeping behavior. Common refinding methods included the use o f 1 .) A search service. 2.) Partial completion of a site's web address and acceptance of a suggested completion to this address (the auto-complete function). 3.) Hyperlinks from another web site. Results underline the importance of a reminding function. This paper also reports the data collected from a web survey conducted after the keeping and re-finding observations. 214 participants completed the survey. The data from the survey validated and elaborated the various methods that people use to keep web information for later re-use that were identified in earlier observational studies.